Lebanon president biography

Head of state of Lebanon

For a list of officeholders, see List of presidents of Lebanon.

The Presidentof the Lebanese Republic (Arabic: رئيس الجمهورية اللبنانية, romanized: Ra’īs al-Jumhūriyyah al-Lubnāniyyah) is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, the president is always a Maronite Christian who fulfills the same requirements as a candidate for the house of representatives, as per article 49 of the Lebanese constitution.

The current holder is Joseph Aoun, who took office on 9 January 2025.

History

See also: History of Lebanon

French mandate

The first Lebanese constitution was promulgated on 23 May 1926, and subsequently amended several times. Modeled after that of the French Third Republic, it provided for a bicameral parliament with Chamber of Deputies and a Senate (although the latter was eventually dropped), a president, and a Council of Ministers, or cabinet. The president was to be elected by the Chamber of Deputies for one six-year term and could not be reelected until a six-year period had elapsed; deputies were to be popularly elected along confessional lines.

A custom of selecting major political officers, as well as top ranks within the public administration, according to the proportion of the principal sects in the population was strengthened during this period. Thus, for example, the president ought to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a Shia Muslim. A Greek Orthodox and a Druze would always be present in the cabinet. This practice increased sectarian tension by providing excessive power to the Maronite president (such as the ability to choose the prime minister), and hindered the formation of a Lebanese national identity. Under th

President of Lebanon since 2025

For other people named Joseph Aoun, see Joseph Aoun (disambiguation).

In this Lebanese name, the father's name is Khalil and the family name is Aoun.

Joseph Khalil Aoun (; Arabic: جوزاف خليل عون; born 10 January 1964) is a Lebanese politician and army general who has served as the 14th president of Lebanon since 9 January 2025. He previously served as commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and is the fifth commander appointed president.

Early life and education

Aoun was born on 10 January 1964, in the Beirut suburb of Sin el-Fil in the Metn District, the child of Hoda Ibrahim Makhlouta and Khalil Aoun. He completed secondary school at the Collège des Frères Mont La Salle. His family is originally from the town of Al-Aaishiyah, Southern Lebanon.

Aoun enrolled at the Lebanese American University to pursue a bachelor's degree in political science and international affairs, which he earned in 2007. He also holds a bachelor's degree in military science from the Lebanese Army Military Academy.

Military career

Aoun joined the Lebanese army in 1983 and enrolled in the military academy during the Lebanese civil war. He trained abroad, especially in the United States and Syria. He also underwent counter-terrorism training in the United States in 2008 and Lebanon in 2013. He became head of the army's 9th Infantry Brigade in 2015.

Lebanese Civil War

In 1990, Aoun served as a lieutenant in the Lebanese Army's Commando Regiment (Arabic: فوج المغاوير) under leader Bassam Gergi at the Adma barracks. In the 1990 Elimination War, two hundred commandos loyal to General Michel Aoun were trapped in their base in Adma wa Dafneh by Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces militia (LF) until a truce was arranged to allow their evacuation. Gergi was killed and Aoun took over leadership within t

BEIRUT — Lebanon’s army chief, Gen. Joseph Aoun, was elected president on Thursday after a more than two-year vacuum at the top position in the country amid deepening political rivalries, economic and financial strains and growing instability.

Aoun, who has been commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces since 2017, secured 99 votes out of 128 during the second round of a parliament session calledby its speaker, Nabih Berri. During the first round of voting earlier on Thursday, Aoun received 71 votes, short of the 86 required to become president. 

Article 49 of the Lebanese constitution prohibits serving government employees and members of the armed forces fromrunning for president unless they secure two-thirds majority of the vote. Aoun therefore required a minimum of 86 parliamentary votes and not just a simple majority (65) to circumvent this rule.

The breakthrough followed intense regional and international diplomacy led by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others. Thursday's session followed the implementation of a 60-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel brokered by the United States, which took effect on Nov. 27, 2024. The ceasefire, which is up for renewal on Jan. 25, ended a 13-month conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. The Lebanese military plays a central role in implementing the arrangement. 

Lebanon has been without a president since October 2022, when the term of Hezbollah-backed President Michel Aoun (no relation) concluded. Since then, the country's fractured parliament has failed in 12 attempts to elect a new president, leaving Lebanon with a caretaker government operating with l

Lebanese Army commander Joseph Aoun is the new president of Lebanon.

The 61-year-old becomes Lebanon’s 14th president, having filled a presidential vacuum of more than two years left by his predecessor, Michel Aoun – who is not related to the new president.

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Joseph Aoun’s appointment overcomes a major impasse; Lebanon’s parliament had met on 12 prior occasions to vote for a president but failed to elect one.

Aoun’s support in parliament came from a wide spectrum of political figures, and he eventually won 99 votes from the 128-seat parliament in the second round of voting.

But who is Joseph Aoun? And why did it take so long for the Lebanese parliament to agree that he was the right person to lead the country?

Military experience

Born in 1964 in Sin el-Fil, a northern suburb of Beirut, Aoun came to prominence during his time as Lebanon’s army commander, a position he ascended to in 2017, and which, like the president of the republic, has to be occupied by a member of Aoun’s sect, Maronite Christianity.

Aoun’s official Lebanese army biography states that he enrolled in the military academy in 1983, during the Lebanese civil war.

He steadily rose through the ranks, undergoing various training in Lebanon and abroad, including with the US counterterrorism programme. He also was awarded Lebanon’s Medal of War three times, along with several other medals and honours.

In August 2017, shortly after taking charge of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), Aoun put his counterterrorism training to use by launching an operation targeting ISIL (ISIS) fighters who had spent years in the mountainous terrain between Syria and Lebanon – p